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South Indian textile mills have reduced their cotton procurement by around 40 per cent from Gujarat during the October-September season of 2016-17. Reason: growing adulteration in cotton. Faced with a growing demand, ginners in Gujarat reportedly started mixing comber waste in cotton. This propelled many mill owners to tap other parts of the country for cotton procurement to meet the compliance norms set by buyers.
High contamination affects the quality of yarns as well as the final product, that is, the garment. It is difficult for mills to identify the contamination as comber waste looks cleaner than cotton. Generally the quality of cotton is determined by its color, fiber length, strength, fitness and the degree to which the cotton is free from contamination. One of the important factors which make quality of raw cotton low is contamination. A contamination may be an impurity, which can affect the subsequent processes, product appearance or product quality in general. Contamination causes to produce low quality lint cotton, yarn and manufactured goods.
Contamination of raw cotton may take place at any level, at farm while picking, at storage and marketing or at ginning. Cotton at the farm level is mainly contaminated before or at the time of picking in a number of ways. At the time of ball opening brackish and decayed seed cotton appears. Mixed picking of these balls also causes contamination.
Textilelegprom is being held in Russia from August 29 to September 1, 2017. The fair shows the whole spectrum of textile and light industry goods, from raw materials and equipment to finished product. The main purpose is to showcase new products, lighting innovations and new technologies in the textile and clothing industries.
Exhibitors are showcasing a wide range of products and services such as women’s clothing, men’s clothing, clothes for young people, clothing for sports and leisure, clothing for sleep and home, leisure wear, maternity wear, jeans wear, uniforms and corporate clothing, special clothing, children’s clothing, wedding fashion, hats, shawls, scarves, baby clothing, ties, fashion accessories.
More than 200 companies from 28 countries are attending. About 35,000 visitors, including wholesale buyers, industry experts, representatives of trade chains and importers, are expected.
Textilelegprom is the largest eastern European interdisciplinary trade fair for the textile and light industry. There are eight thematic salons, each of being the largest trade fair in the segment. It is a meeting place for industry professionals and presents high quality products and services of leading Russian and foreign companies. It is a platform for signing contracts for the supply of goods between manufacturers, suppliers and wholesale buyers from Russia and foreign countries.
Timberland will reintroduce cotton as an anchor crop in Haiti. The project will revitalise over 17,000 farms, while adding to the economy and contributing positively to the environment as it plans to plant millions of trees.
Cotton was once the fourth largest agricultural export from Haiti before it disappeared by the late 1980s. Its demise was due largely to external pressures and internal politics.
Cotton varieties from Brazil, India and the United States have been planted, with a Haitian cotton strain. The aim is to enable 34,000 farmers from 17,000 farms to double their current income, plant at least 25 million trees and connect farmers to the global cotton market. The project is also expected to increase crop yields for local consumption and provide microloans, professional training and leadership initiatives for female farmers.
Timberland has already planted more than 6.5 million trees. It plans to purchase up to one-third of Haiti’s annual cotton supply. Timberland is a global outdoor lifestyle brand. It supports the people of Haiti following a five-year tree-planting effort to help smallholder farmers reach self-sufficiency. Timberland hopes to transition from being a supporter of smallholder farmers to purchasing cotton from them for the brand’s supply chain.
VF Asia has forged a partnership with philanthropic organization Hinrich Foundation that promotes sustainable global trade, to sponsor seven scholars to attend a one-year master’s program as part of the Global Trade Leader Scholarship Program. Candidates include those majoring in Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. After graduation, the scholars will commit two years of service with VF.
To date, seven scholars have completed the master program through VF’s involvement. Dipti Hassan, one of the seven scholars VF sponsored says the experience was an essential stepping-stone for the engineering career, and this opportunity could improve the manufacturing processes at VF.
The Global Trade Leadership Scholarship Program is exclusively offered to students from Bangladesh, where finding skilled industrial engineers can be challenging. VF hopes to leverage local cultural and operational expertise to spearhead growth in the country it began in 2014 and helps VF attract and train young talent in engineering.
With Bangladesh as a major hub for apparel manufacturing, the Hinrich Foundation partnership is key to fulfilling critical talent roles in VF facilities while also providing educational and professional opportunities to Bangladesh citizens.
The first eight months of 2017 saw strong growth of Vietnam’s main exports. Exports of phones and components were up 14.8 per cent, garments were up 7.2 per cent, footwear up 13 per cent, seafood up 19.2 per cent, wood and wooden products up 10.6 per cent and vegetables and fruits up 48 per cent.
Export turnover in the eight months rose 17.9 per cent year-on-year. Of this, exports by the domestic sector saw a 15.7 per cent increase while those of the foreign-invested sector were up 18.9 per cent.
The US remained the largest consumer of Vietnamese goods followed by the EU and China. But China’s share of Vietnam’s imports saw a year-on-year surge of 14.7 per cent.
Import value registered a year-on-year surge of 33.5 per cent for machines, equipment, tools and components, 33.3 per cent for telephone and its components, 24.8 per cent for electronic products, computers and components and 16.3 per cent for steel.
Import turnover during the first eight months jumped by 22.3 per cent year-on-year, with imports by the domestic sector showing a 18.4 per cent increase while those of the foreign-invested sector increased by 25 per cent.
Vietnam is changing the rate of import tax and export tax for certain goods.
The Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) University has identified 12 indigenous plants for manufacturing natural textile dyes. A study by the College of Agriculture (CoA), Vellayani, as a part of the Western Ghat Development Programme (WGDP), identified 12 indigenous plants capable of giving colour to cotton and silk textiles. This will provide an organic option for dyeing.
KAU has been looking at industrial production of natural dyes for textile industry. The technology for using these plants for commercial textile industry has been standardised under another research project sponsored by the RKVY (Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana). The technology will be of great value in the development of eco-friendly and safe clothing, especially for newborns and people allergic to synthetic dyes.
The KAU has not revealed the names of the plants owing to patent issues. Plant dyes were used for garment dyeing and wall paintings till the advent of synthetic dyes in the 16th century.
The biochemical properties of these natural dye compounds had also been deciphered, which would help identify the biomolecules in them. Going back to the safer, cheaper, and durable natural plant dyes would also help the ecosystem and the lives of workers in dye manufacturing industry, he added.
Kerala, especially the Western Ghats region, is gifted with a wide array of plants for manufacturing natural textile dyes. There is also a treasure of traditional knowledge on temple wall paintings and in colouring traditional mats, among the rural and tribal people, says P. Indira Devi, Director of Research.
The 12 natural dyes with five different mordants, of which three are natural, have been screened. All silk and cotton materials dyed with these pigments have been tested in SITRA (South Indian Textile Research Laboratory) for colour fastness to light and stability to washing. Through this analysis, combinations of natural dye and natural mordant with good stability have been identified, says V G Jayalakshmi, Principal Investigator.
As a part of a special industrial package Punjab-based knitwear industry has protested against the Centre’s decision to give tax exemption to hill states of Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh under GST. Knitwear Club Chairman Vinod Thapar as well as Knitwear & Textile Club General Secretary Charanjiv Singh have written to the two union ministers from Punjab, stating the 12 to 28 per cent GST rate on knitwear products has proved to be a big blow to the Punjab-based knitwear industry due to which it has reached a stage of bankruptcy and also caused loss to the state’s exchequer.
They also stated thousands of units in the small-scale and cottage sector are on the brink of closure, as a direct result of excluding Punjab's knitwear industry from the special package given to the Himalayan states. According to them even though the hill states were already enjoying tax exemption, the tax holiday under the GST regime will give the local industry in Punjab a reason to move to the hill states.
They added since both ministers are part of the Union government, they are expected to protect the interests of Punjab's knitwear industry. Also, as the BJP and the Akali Dal are major political stakeholders in Punjab, it becomes obligatory upon both ministers to fight effectively for the interests of the Punjab-based industry.
Li & Fung has entered a joint venture with a Hong Kong-based knitwear exporter South Ocean Knitters Holdings. Dubbed Cobalt Fashion Holding and worth roughly $700 million, the JV will merge the operations and resources of Li & Fung’s sweater vertical with South Ocean’s knitwear business to become one of the world’s largest knitwear suppliers.
It combines the strengths of South Ocean’s yarn development and manufacturing knowhow with Li & Fung’s product design and supply chain innovation. The total turnover of the JV is about $700 million. The JV will service brands and retailers at all price levels and in all segments, covering the US, UK, Europe, Japan and other Asian markets.
Li & Fung Group chairman William Fung says the company is excited as it does have a long history and solid track record, with a strong foundation of product innovation and expertise, given access to the world’s leading fashion brands and retailers, it has first-hand insight into how knitwear and its supply chain can be transformed to best suit today’s fast-changing apparel market.
Silas Chou, President and CEO, Novel Enterprises, the parent company of South Ocean, well known for building billion-dollar brands Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors, is confident that this partnership is an important milestone for the global knitwear industry. South Ocean is one of the most established knitwear companies in Asia with over 40 years of experience in supplying the world’s top brands and retailers with beautiful, functional and innovative knitwear, says Silas Chou.
Closing of the transaction, and establishment of the JV, will take place once the necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained, Li & Fung stated in a release.
Lenzing, Santoni, Tonello and Unitin will present DEN/IM 2.0 at Munich Fabric Start.
This is a new and improved collection of athleisure garments made with stretch indigo on seamless circular knitting machines.
DEN/IM 2.0 follows the August 2016 launch of DEN/IM, which initially touted knit denim as a viable alternative and competitor to traditional active wear bottoms.
The four companies have come together to tweak and enhance the concept. The updated collection emphasizes new elements like compression, ventilation, moisture control, thermal conductivity and body mapping.
Each knitted garment in the collection incorporates different combinations of fibers and knitted structures to create a unique cross-over concept.
Engineered ventilation areas, 3-D knitted structures and padded areas are strategically positioned on garments. Body mapping seamless sportswear consists of one piece of multiple knit structure fabric, which provides improved wear comfort by adjusting to personalized body heat exchanges. Tencel fibers help regulate body temperature and provide moisture wicking properties.
In an age where new innovations and interpretations drive the denim category, there is always something that emerges as a new way forward and DEN/IM 2.0 is presenting itself as that new evolution.
Stars in the denim supply chain will share their latest development in integrating performance benefits into the authentic denim world at Munich Fabric Start.
For Q2 Guess’ revenues increased five per cent, operating margin expanded 120 basis points and operating profit grew 49 per cent compared to last year’s second quarter. There were positive results in Europe and Asia, where revenues saw double-digit increase, as a result of new store openings, wholesale growth and positive comp sales. Trends in operating margins for these two regions expanded this quarter compared to last year.
Net earnings rose 30.4 per cent. Adjusted diluted earnings per share grew 26.7 per cent compared to last year. But retail revenue in America dropped 11.2 per cent. E-commerce sales and retail comp sales fell 10 per cent. However, America’s wholesale revenue grew 6.6 per cent.
European revenue grew 20.1 per cent. Retail comp sales, including e-commerce, grew five per cent. Meanwhile, Asia revenues grew 17.5 per cent. Retail comp sales including e-commerce grew seven per cent.
Guess has achieved meaningful cost reductions, especially in its supply chain. It’s accelerating reduction of its footprint in the US, which currently makes up less than 36 per cent of its global sales. It has significantly increased adjusted guidance for fiscal 2018 and is now expecting to grow top-line, adjusted operating margin and adjusted earnings per share compared to last year.
